2-14-13 CWA of WA E-Alert: We ought to obey God rather than men

Valentine greetings from the state office!”And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Cor.13:13)What love we have in our Savior, Christ Jesus!May you feel His love today and every day as you obey God’s Word and run this race with endurance.

Yes, endurance! That’s tough in this “left coast” state, given that it often looks as if people of Biblical faith are so outnumbered. One of the least churched states in the union, Washington has a reputation as one of the states through which bad things come! Let’s continue in prayer, educating others and acting on our faith, while standing in the battlefield with God’s spiritual armor to defend faith, family and freedom.

President Ronald Reagan once warned Americans, Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.

If Peter and the other disciples (Acts 5) were willing to risk standing up for freedom in obedience to God, perhaps we should cinch up our spiritual armor and follow their example! As you’ll see below, there are state senators and representatives willing to promote and protect Biblical values in our state, thus strengthening families which are the foundation of any society. Please do your part to support those legislators through prayer and action, thanking them for a job well done.

LEGISLATION

CWA’s three priorities: PRAYER, EDUCATION, ACTION!

Following is a list of six bills that CWA is monitoring and believes should concern every freedom-loving Christian citizen.

Parental rights need to be respected, restored and protected from government interference. Except in emergencies, all medical procedures for underage children require parental consent; even field trips require your signature! This bill simply requires that a parent/guardian be notified 48 hours before an underage daughter undergoes an abortion, a decision that will affect her for her entire life and will likely result in later parental involvement as post-abortion symptoms arise, at which point the parent is both emotionally and fiscally responsible for the daughter’s well being.

There was an overflow crowd last week for the public hearing on 5156. Pray that the committee will vote to pass this bill and forward it to the next committee, then that it will be brought up for a vote on the Senate floor.

Parental rights need to be respected in all decisions, particularly medical issues with longlasting conseqences and potential risk for a child. This bill has been introduced by Rep. Shea in prior years and has never had a public hearing due to the opposition of the Chair Eileen Cody of the Committee on Health Care & Wellness. If you reside in Rep. Cody’s district, please contact her office and request that she schedule a hearing for 1257: eileen.cody@leg.wa.gov; 360-786-7978. Politely explain why we need a public hearing for this bill in order to restore parental rights.

These are companion bills, meaning the same bill language is introduced in both the Senate and House of Representatives. SB 5009 has been filed and read, then was referred to Senate Health Care and Wellness Committee where it is sitting without action. HB 1044 is on the move, meaning it passed out of the Committee on Health Care & Wellness and on 2/12 was referred to the House Rules Committee for a second reading.

These bills are an effort to force all insurance policies that cover maternity care to also cover abortion procedures, despite an employer’s or individual’s sincerely held religious or moral objections. They have been called the “Reproductive Parity Act” as if live birth and abortion are equal. Please refer to previous action alert for more information if you need it. You may find that alert online at http://wa.cwfa.org or through the national website: www.cwfa.org and click on “States”.

5614 concerns “family second chances”; it replaces the 90-day waiting period for divorce settlement with a one-year waiting period, except in the case of abuse, and provides for “information on the option of reconciliation, including research onthe potential benefits of avoiding marriage dissolution.”

The increasingly easy dissolution of marriage has damaged countless families and children during the past generation. Research has shown that children of intact, two-parent families perform better and cost a society much less than other children. This bill seeks to enable spouses to repair rather than to destroy their marriages with allowance for unusual circumstances.

CWA of Washington SUPPORTS SB 5614. This bill is scheduled for a public hearing on Friday, 2/15, 8:00 a.m. Visit the legislative website for the location and make an effort to attend the public hearing in order to show our legislators how important marriage is to CWA members!

HB 1506 (Rep. Pedersen) Concerning third-party visitation

HB 1506 allows non-parents and non-guardians with “an ongoing and substantial relationship” with a child to file against parents for visitation rights. Such a law could cause unnecessary grief and expense to some parent/s and possibly damage a child and family. If a fit parent chooses not to allow another adult to continue a relationship with his/her child, that adult is able to file suit in a court, and the court will decide whether or not the relationship can continue. A parent/guardian with legal custody may file an opposing affidavit and the bill states, “It is presumed that a fit parent’s decision to deny visitation is in the best interest of the child and does not create a likelihood of harm or a substantial risk of harm to the child”, but it also allows for the “child’s reasonable preference, if the court considers the child to be of sufficient age to express a preference.” While on the surface the bill appears to protect parental rights, it still allows the court to interfere with a fit parent/s’ decisions. Do you want to enable this state to increase its jurisdiction over our families?

On 2/6 there was a public hearing on this bill; no other action is recorded on the legislative website as of 2/12/13 (http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=1506&year=2013).

HB 1168 would allow individual freedom to make one’s own decisions about health care and health care providers. It allows a citizen not to participate in any health care system, allows direct payment for lawful health care services without penalty or fine and disallows “any federal law, rule, order or other act by the federal government violating the provisions of this section” from being implemented in Washington.

CWA of Washington SUPPORTS HB 1168, believing that individuals can decide for themselves with medical advisors and family members what is in their best interest much better than government bureaucrats.

Remember that your representatives and senators cannot truly represent you unless you let them know your thoughts on issues. Others who think and believe the opposite of you are contacting them, so you need to do your part to make this a true democratic republic! You may find your district’s three legislators at http://app.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/. Legislative Hotline: 1-800-562-6000; hours are Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.; Sat. 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Please pray about these bills, educate yourself and others on these issues of concern to Christian citizens, and then take action: Call, visit or e-mail your legislative district’s representatives.

If you would like to join CWA’s Encourage-A-Legislator Campaign, just fill out the attached form and return it to the CWA of Washington office. Also, if you haven’t renewed your membership for 2013, you may do so on the attached form or on the state website: http://wa.cwfa/org.

Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love. 1 Cor. 16:13-14